New Neighbors
by RigTim
Summary: A family just moved in across the Shinonome Laboratory. As time goes by, the interactions between Nano and her new neighbor, Tadashi, become closer. How will this affect her current bonds with her other friends? This story contains a main focus plot, side plots and gags (labeled as My Ordinary Life), shorts (one-shots), and snippets of Helvetica Standard.
1. Chapter 1: Moving In

The summer sun shines its rays upon the modestly sized urban town during clear, cloudless skies. The sounds of birds, insects, trees, and vehicles calmly fill the air, giving a relaxing and peaceful atmosphere. A train can be heard passing by, further enhancing the town's overall vibe.

"Hakase, please help me fold the laundry!", called the voice of a black-haired teenage girl.

The immediate response of "Hai!~" was heard sounding in the household by a voice of a young child, a girl.

That teenager was none other than Nano Shinonome, the robot high school girl created by the 8-year old professor, Hakase. Wearing her morning getup, she happily hums a tune while taking the laundry off the line and folding them into a basket, patiently waiting for the young genius for assistance. Sakamoto, the black cat with a scarf that allows him to speak, idly sleeps in the shade on the back porch. It was much too early for him to rise up from his calm snooze. Unfortunately, he is about to be subjected to a very rude awakening.

The blonde-haired child professor was heard running across the house hallway at very high speeds.

"Nano Nano Nano Nano Nano Nano Nano Nano Nano Na-"

 _BUMP, THUMP._

Hakase, without seeing Sakamoto in the shade, clumsily kicked the cat in the gut, causing her to trip and fall down to the ground. The black feline, grunting and wriggling in pain, was not amused in the slightest.

"Oi, kid! Watch where you're running! I'm gonna feel that all day!"

Nano approached Hakase and Sakamoto in concern. "Hakase, Sakamoto-san, are you alright?"

Hakase looked up with teary eyes. "My elbow, it hurts…" she said while crying a little.

Nano inspected the damage. A scrape was bleeding from the little girl's elbow. The robot sighed in disappointment. "Jeez, this is what happens when you run in the house like that, Hakase. Come on, let's straighten you out." She picked up Hakase to her feet and noticed Sakamoto still squirming painfully. Petting his head and scratching his ear, Nano said to him in a comforting voice, "Don't worry, I'll take care of you in a bit." Turning back to Hakase in a scolding tone though, "Hakase, apologize to Sakamoto-san."

"I-...I'm sorry…" said the girl, upset in pain and shame.

Sakamoto sighed, "Whatever, it's fine. Just watch where you're running next time." As he said that, he returned to his much deserved morning nap.

—

Hakase was sitting on the kitchen counter next to the sink, still all teary-eyed from the previous incident. Nano brought out the first aid kit from an upper cabinet, rubbed a bit of peroxide on a piece of gauze, and focused on her cute little patient.

"Nano, is it going to hurt?", asked Hakase.

"Only a little bit," replied a smiling Nano, "but it will make you feel better afterwards, I promise!"

Hakase got scared, covering her scabbed elbow. "But, but I don't want it to hurt!"

"Hakase, be a big girl, now. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," consoled Nano as she applied the peroxide to her wound. The little girl inhaled sharply in pain, but relaxed after a few seconds. Nano washed her wound a little more and applied a shark-printed bandaid. "There, all done!"

"Thanks, Nano!" Hakase was much happier after looking at her bandaid. "Laundry time!"

The robot laughed, "It's okay, Hakase, you don't have to help me now. Go work on your research now, okay? I'll cook you breakfast when I'm done."

Hakase looked at Nano curiously, tilting her head. "Oh… okay." This was unusual to hear this coming from her guardian. However, her eyes brightened as she remembered why she was running in the house in the first place. "Nano! Nano!", she excitedly said, jumping up and down.

Nano looked back at Hakase, "What is it?"

"There's a moving truck across our house! We have new neighbors!" Hakase couldn't contain her excitement.

Nano blinked. After processing what she just heard, she gasped, eyes wider. "Wait, we do?!"

"We do?" said Sakamoto from the backyard porch, overhearing what Hakase just announced. Even he was curious. He got up quickly, probably shouldn't be doing so due to the pain, but he didn't care at the moment.

In an instant, the Shinonome household got out from the front door of the laboratory and looked to see a family of four unloading various furniture and items from a moving truck. For the first time in a while, they have new neighbors!

"Sugoi! You're right, Hakase!", exclaimed Nano. "We should say hello!"

Hakase didn't even hesitate, "OHAYOU!~", she loudly called out to the family, waving her arm rapidly.

—

"Ohayou gozaimasu!", called the family out in unison.

A teenage boy with black hair, who looks about the same age as Nano despite not being a robot himself, came up to Nano, Hakase, and Sakamoto, bowing. "Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you!", greeted the young child professor, bowing back along with Nano and Sakamoto, "are you our new neighbor?"

"Yes I am!", greeted the boy. "My name is Tadashi Fujiomi. Over there," Tadashi said, pointing, "are my parents, my older sister Tamiko, and our cat, Kiko-chan." An orange tabby cat was seen sitting at the gateway of their front yard.

Hakase, who was even more excited, further brightened her smile. "You have a cat too?! Cool! Does it talk?"

"Eh?" Tadashi was confused, but a bit amused at this question.

"Please excuse Hakase, she's a bit excitable at the moment." said Nano, slightly embarrassed. Bowing, she introduced herself. "I'm Nano Shinonome. This is Hakase, and our cat, Sakamoto-san. Nice to meet you."

"O-oh! N-nice to meet you, too!", replied a flustered Tadashi, bowing again in a bit of sweat.

 _"What's with these neighbors?"_ , asked the boy to himself. _"The young girl is being called a Professor, this cat got addressed as San, and this cute girl talking to me... has a screw on her back?"_

"Tadashi!", called a glasses-wearing girl who looks and sounds to be in her early 20's. "Where do you want your manga collection?"

"T-T-TAMIKO!", yelled the now panicked Tadashi, "DON'T ASK THAT OUT LOUD FOR EVERYONE TO HEAR!"

"Like you're able to hold any secrets." Tamiko deadpanned, much to Nano's amusement and Tadashi's embarrassment. Turns out, he's an otaku.

Tadashi sighed in defeat. "Just… just put it to the side."

Tamiko, expressionless, put down the box to the side of the front entrance. Then, she picked up an unusually large signpost and stuck it in the ground aside of the box. It reads:

 **TADASHI FUJIOMI'S**  
 **"CRAZY AWESOME SUPER COOL"**  
 **MANGA COLLECTION**

An arrow drawn below it points at the box. Tadashi's body and clothes turned completely white in an instant. At that moment, Nano, Hakase, and even Sakamoto had a hard time containing their laughter, covering their mouths.

"Uhh… anyways!" exclaimed a color-returned Tadashi, turning back to the Shinonome household, "We've been here since dawn, trying to move into our new home, and we still got a lot of work to do. Would you mind lending a hand?"

Nano clapped her hands together. "Sure! We'd be glad to help! Right, Hakase?"

"Right!", exclaimed Hakase in response, fist in the air.

In what seemed like a spontaneous coincidence, loud stomach growls could be heard from all four beings standing together.

"Actually, uhh…", said Tadashi, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, "We didn't have a proper breakfast this morning, just a bunch of energy bars..."

A light bulb popped over Nano's head. "Oh! Good timing! I was actually going to make breakfast before Hakase told me we have new neighbors! We'd like to invite you and your family over, Fujiomi-san!"

To no surprise, Tadashi was thrilled. "Wow, are you serious? That sounds great! I'll go let everyone know! Hey Mom, Dad, Onee-chan!"

Nano smiled to herself as Tadashi ran over and called to his family. _"He's really nice… and cute, too~"_ , she thought as she let out a little giggle. Once again, her stomach, along with Hakase's and Sakamoto's, growled. No more time to waste. It's time to eat.

—

The Shinonome and Fujiomi family all ended up eating breakfast together at the laboratory. Unfortunately for Nano, she has to take a trip to the grocery shop because almost all of the food in the fridge and pantries were used up. Luckily, Mr. and Mrs. Fujiomi offered to give some money to her as thanks for offering to help move in.

"Oh, no! I can't take the money," said Nano, bowing repeatedly, "It's what I'm supposed to do, a-as a neighbor and-"

Both parents chuckled, interrupting the kind robot. Mrs. Fujiomi calmly replied in a loving voice, "Please, Shinonome-san, it's the least we could do to say thanks. Use it to buy your groceries!"

Nano nervously reached out with both her hands and accepted the envelope containing the money. "A… arigatou."

She didn't really know how to handle this kind of situation. That escalated even further when she slowly pulled out the money from the envelope, containing **thousands** of yen. Out of shock, steam blew out of her ears and her key started turning violently.

"S-S-SERIOUSLY?! THIS MUCH?! I-I CAN'T ACCEPT ALL OF THIS!", she screamed loudly. Both Fujiomi parents beamed a smile at the flustered girl. Nano didn't have a choice. She had to keep all this money. "A-A-A-ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU! ARIGATOU!", blurted Nano while repeatedly bowing quicker than before.

As the parents bowed back, Nano hurriedly ran into the laboratory to put the money in a safe location. A trail of steam followed her.

Mr. Fujiomi looked at his wife, "Nano-chan is such a sweet girl. Don't you think so, Kumiko?"

"Um… Takeo…", replied Mrs. Fujiomi, "how much did we give her, again?"

Both stared at each other in awkward silence.


	2. Chapter 2: Helping Hands

Hakase was walking into the kitchen area, lifting a box that was larger than her actual size. Impressive as this sounds, she was visibly struggling to carry it across the room. After a few seemingly lengthened seconds, she placed the box down to where it was needed, sighing in exhaustion. A white puff cloud escaped her mouth.

Tadashi followed the pint-sized professor with another box, leaving it alongside the one that she placed. "You know," said the teenage boy, "you shouldn't have to carry things that are too much for you. You'll end up hurting yourself."

"I'm fine!", replied Hakase with an unintentionally adorable pout, "I wanna help!" She has been adamant on helping out the family since she saw them.

Laughing, Tadashi placed a hand on her head, petting her hair. "You're helping out very much," he said to Hakase. Seems like she wasn't done pouting. "Why don't you help my mom over there with arranging the books on the shelf?" Tadashi pointed over to the living room where Mrs. Fujiomi sat.

Immediately, Hakase's lost energy returned. "Hai!" She ran over to the woman as she offered her help. How could she say no?

Turning around, Tadashi saw Nano carry a familiar-looking box as she was about to approach the steps. "Ah! Nano! That's mine!", blurted Tadashi, running over to her.

"Huh? But your sister-" Nano was interrupted as Tadashi grabbed the box off of her hands and ran up the steps, all red in the face. Needless to say, she was very confused, mostly because she already knows what's in it.

"There goes my little brother again," sighing Tamiko, walking in. "He never wants anyone knowing or talking about what he keeps."

"Why not?", asked Nano.

Tamiko adjusted her glasses, "Tadashi-chan always believed that his friends and family members think that manga, anime, and ero-games are taboo. He thinks he'll be bullied again by others because of it."

Nano looked concerned, "Again? You mean he's been bullied before?"

The older sister sighed with a straight face. "Just once. But, it was enough for him to be this defensive. As soon as I heard this, I've taken action and started casually talking about what he keeps so he can learn how to defend himself."

The robot didn't take that kindly. "That's mean!", she said to the older sister.

Tamiko looked at Nano dead in the eyes. "I'm not doing this to be mean, you know. I'm trying to boost his confidence."

"Well, it's not working.", retorted Nano, angrily. She clearly knew that this was something amiss with Tadashi, even if she only knew him for not even an entire day. Sighing, she looked up at his sister. "Do you think I should talk to him about it?"

"You can, but…" paused Tamiko, "good luck trying to get any sense of him." She walked back to the moving truck to get some more boxes.

The robot was visibly sad. She felt so bad for her new neighbor, but didn't want to leave this problem go. She decided that she should go where his room was being set up and talked to him. Bravely, she trotted up the stairs.

—

Nano approached the door to Tadashi's room, sighed nervously, and knocked on the door.

A voice was heard coming from inside. "Who is it?"

"It's me", replied Nano.

The door opened, revealing a part of his room, and Tadashi himself. "Who's me?- NGH!"

 _SLAM._

"Wah!", recoiled a startled Nano, falling on her butt. A door slamming at her face? What's going on? She immediately got back up after hearing intense rustling from inside the room. Opening the door again, she let herself in. "Fujiomi-san, are you alrigh-"

"GAAAAH!", yelled out Tadashi while falling and spilling out the contents of the box he was once holding. Nano messed up, and she knew it.

"I-I'm so sorry, Fujiomi-san, let me help you with th-", she stopped herself mid-sentence as she realized what he spilled out. Erotic games. _Lots_ of them. Now she understands what his sister meant about his insecurities. The robot was taken aback. She was mesmerized by all the various covers of the games, all displayed in very suggestive ways. Nano has never seen anything like this before, not to this extent. It was something that would normally be seen at Comiket, let alone all in a box. All of a sudden, she snapped back in attention when she heard Tadashi sniffling, face down.

"Why… why won't anyone let me enjoy these in peace? Why?" His voice was emotional and cracked. " _Sniff._ Why can't I just go on for one GODDAMN day without someone ridiculing me for owning and enjoying eroge?!" He broke down crying.

Nano couldn't believe what she was hearing. This was more shocking than seeing all the eroge spilled out on the floor. Kneeling down, she rested a hand on Tadashi's back. "Hey…", she said to him.

"Go ahead," said a muffled Tadashi, "judge me. Make fun of me all you want. Let this be your first impression of me. A nerdy, desperate, virgin LOSER. Do what you want to me, I don't think I even care anymore..."

Nano placed her hand under the poor teenage boy's chin and lifted his face up so he can see her. Tears were running down his face. She smiled at him. "Why would I judge you? It's normal for boys like you to be into these games, you know.~" She sounded so comforting.

Tadashi scoffed a little. "Yeah, but not THIS much." He rested his face back on the floor.

Still not giving up the fight, Nano sat next to him. "You know," she began, "I have a friend who once kept her drawings in secret from everyone, and she was so desperate to not let anyone know." She looked down and saw Tadashi didn't move a muscle. "She drew… boy's love stuff. Yaoi, they call it." The mere mentioning of this word caused her to flush red a little. He still didn't move. She continued on, while laughing, "Apparently, Naganohara-san had to wrestle down a police officer, her best friend, an old man, and a goat to get her drawings back."

From that, Tadashi couldn't help but be curious, lifting his head up. "Seriously?", he replied.

"Yup!", said Nano. "Eventually, she didn't keep it a secret anymore, and my two other friends and I discovered how talented of a mangaka she really is! We didn't think of her or treat her any differently than before. So, Fujiomi-san…"

"Call me Tadashi-kun.", interrupted the boy, getting up.

"R-right," replied Nano, "Fuji- I mean, Tadashi-kun, listen to me. You don't have to keep a secret so desperately hidden to others. It's not good for you, you know? Well… the secret part, not the eroge… _Ahem._ Don't be afraid of others judging you for what you like to do, what you have, and what you are. If they have a problem, that's on them. Not you. Okay?~"

Her voice was like music to his ears. He's been wanting to hear that for so long from someone outside his family. "Okay…", said Tadashi, with a nod. "Thanks, Shinonome-san."

Nano replied with a giggle, "Call me Nano-chan!"

Soon enough, the newfound friends cleaned up the mess made from all the spilled eroge. In what seems like a miracle, his spirits were lifted up very quickly.

Tadashi had just one more thing to ask… "Excuse me, uh… Nano-chan?"

"Yes?"

"What's that screw on your back for?"

"KYAA!~", yelped a now embarrassed robot. It doesn't look like she can follow her own advice.

—

"Work, damn you…"

A frustrated Mr. Fujiomi is attempting to get the WiFi for the house running, but he's having a hard time figuring out how it all works. Wires were strewn about, red lights were blinking from the modem and router, and the computer was signaling that no Internet connection was found. He's been at this for hours, going back and forth trying to diagnose the problem.

"I swear, I'm going to break this router in half!"

"Excuse me~", said the voice of a little girl. Turning around, Mr. Fujiomi sees Hakase standing behind, curious.

"Oh… Hello, Hakase. Don't mind me, I'm trying to get our Internet working."

The professor walks up to the current setup of their network and takes a look, with hmm's, ooh's, and ah's voicing out from her.

Chuckling, the middle-aged man got up to Hakase and patted her back. "All those wires. Really hard stuff, you know? Technology is great and very useful, but it's so much of a hassle to get up and running! Maybe it might be too much for you to comprehend-"

"I got it!", exclaimed Hakase, as she pulled out some wires and rearranged them quickly and neatly. More lights showed up from the modem and router, looking green. A notification popped up on the computer saying a network has been found.

"Wha… how did you…", Mr. Fujiomi was dumbfounded.

Hakase put her hand over her mouth. "Pupupu~, you forgot to plug the modem in."

All that time felt like it was wasted, the man thought to himself. He let out a goofy gasp as he fainted on the floor.

"Ah! Oji-san! Wake up! I need to know the password!", said Hakase, shaking the fainted body.

"All worked out, I see.", said Tamiko, walking up to Hakase and her 'deceased' father. "Can't catch a break for himself. So, you said you needed the password?"

"Hai!", replied Hakase, pulling out her smartphone and giving it to Tamiko. The older sister quickly typed out the network password in Hakase's notes and handed it back. "Thanks for helping out. He would have been at this all night."

"Teeheeheehee…", giggled Hakase, scratching the back of her head. She hopped on the desk chair and connected the computer to the network, as well as her own smartphone, just in case. Soon enough, as the genius child started configuring the Fujiomis' computer with antivirus software and necessary applications, Mr. Fujiomi got up from the floor, rubbed his head, and walked over towards the desk.

"How did you know how to fix our network?", asked Mr. Fujiomi, "You must be _really_ smart for a girl your age."

As she was typing away, Hakase replied, "I should be! I'm not called Hakase for nothin'~"

"Wait a second…", replied the man, "are you ACTUALLY a professor?"

"Yep! Certified in research in robotics! I've also been learnin' I.T. as well!" Hakase sounded bold and confident explaining her status.

Mr. Fujiomi was stunned. To think that a girl, this young, could be so smart and knowledgeable in these fields, while still having a mentality of a child, could even exist. "Well, Hakase", he said to her with a bow, "I'm sorry for judging you before. From now on, I know who to talk to whenever I have computer troubles."

Hakase winked and flashed a thumbs up, "You got it, Oji-san!"

Although this was the second time she referenced Mr. Fujiomi by this name, it was the first he's hearing of it. He couldn't contain his laughter. "Hahaha, please! _Oji-san?!_ It's Fujiomi-san."

"Ojifumi-san!"

That man is now laughing even harder. His poor, poor lungs.

—

The night fell, and the Shinonomes decided to take their leave after finishing moving all the boxes from the truck. Everything ran like clockwork. Since all the painting and drywalling has been done a week beforehand, all that was left was to take the rest of the contents out of the boxes, which the Fujiomi family said they can handle.

"Oyasumi, thank you for helping!", called out Mrs. Fujiomi to the Shinonomes.

"Our pleasure!", replied Nano, as she, as well as Hakase and Sakamoto-san, turned to go into their house. They were interrupted by a person heard running up to them from behind.

"Wait!", said Tadashi, catching up and holding a folded piece of paper. "Nano-chan, take this!"

"Hmm?" Nano took the paper and opened it up, revealing Tadashi's phone number.

"Text me tonight, okay?", said Tadashi, bowing.

"H-hai!", said Nano, bowing. "I will!"

Tadashi smiled with happiness and returned back to his house in progress. The Shinonomes returned inside of their laboratory home to crash for the night. As she lied down in her blankets, Nano pulled out her smartphone, added Tadashi into her contacts, and started texting him.

 _Another peaceful day passes at the Shinonome household._


	3. Chapter 3: Shorts (Part 1)

**Response**

Yuuko Aioi and Mio Naganohara were standing in front of the counter in Daiku Burger, waiting for their orders to come out. There were a few people ahead of them that were also waiting for their orders, so the two girls decided to carry out some conversation to pass the time.

"Ne, Mio-chan. Did you hear the story of a seven-year old who hacked a school network?"

"Eh?", replied Mio, unconvinced.

Yuuko continued on, "Yeah! The school had to hire a professional hacker to bring everything back to normal!"

Mio had an even more skeptical look on her face. "I find that hard to believe. Where did you hear that?"

Suddenly, Yuuko froze and then scratched the back of her head. "Uhh… Twitter?"

"Sheesh, Yuuko-chan…", Mio sighed, "you can't believe everything you read on the Internet…"

A Daiku Burger worker brought over two trays. "Number 73! Number 74!"

"That's us!", exclaimed Mio, as she and Yuuko walked over to pick up their food.

"Enjoy your meals," said the worker with a smile.

Yuuko confidently shined her signature smile back to the person behind the counter. "You too!"

 _GAH._

A wave of electricity shot through her body. Her pupils disappeared. Dark clouds circled around the girl and held her captive, decreasing her body temperature. Time slowed down. The space around her slowly distorted and pulled towards Yuuko's gravity as those two words echoed into her mind.

 _"You too… You too… YOU TOO… YOU TOO… Y̶̩̯͝O̴̟͊Ṷ̸̀ ̸͍͔̈́T̶̀͆͜Ǫ̸̘̽O̷͇̲͊… Y̶̫̤͖̔͗̓͐̚O̶̢̥̼̲̗̒̒͜U̴̠͎̖̩͗̈́̾̆ͅ ̷̭̫̇͐̐T̷̞̟̻͍̠͖́̈͘O̸̹̞̰̝̎̔̉̌͒̊ͅO̷̰̮͓̠̼̲̘̓… Ÿ̷̭̤͎͔̮́̓́̀̑̕͘͝Ǫ̴̨͎̠̔̓̈́̆̍̕̚̚͝͝Ú̵̝̰̗̜̈͗͒̑̏̔̑́̕ ̶̞̜̹̺̻̺̖͂̓̄̎̐̏͊͑̈͆̚͝T̷̠̩͍̗͓̣̤͎̰̝͚́̔̉͑͒̋͊̎̾̈́͘ͅƠ̶̟̾̎͠O̷̦̟͚͕̤̭͈̙̫̮̽̏͗͌͒̈͑͊̄̊͘͘͘͜͜…"_

Mio tilted her head. "Yuuko, are you alright?"

The brown-haired genki swiftly turned around and dashed towards the booth in the far corner in shame, with a trail of tears following her.

"Ma'am, you forgot your order!"

* * *

 **Sticker**

A boy was sitting on his bed, playing video games. His phone vibrates, and it's from the girl he likes. Thing is, he hasn't told her yet. He opens his phone, and reads her message.

G: Hey, what's up?

And so, the conversation begins.

B: Nothing much, just playing games right now.  
G: Lucky! I'm trying to study, but I can't focus at all.  
B: You have a test coming up, right?  
G: Yeah, I'm pretty nervous about it.  
B: Don't worry, you got this. Lemme give you something.

The boy sends a selfie, and within a few moments, the girl sends one back, giving back the same pose he did.

G: Thanks! I needed that! :D

As the boy was about to type out his response, his thumb pressed on the wrong button and opened up the sticker gallery. Thinking he was still composing a message, his other thumb sent her a sticker. It said:

 _"I LOVE YOU"_

Panic shot down his body as he clumsily dropped his phone. Scuffling to pick it back up, he opened the messaging app again and started to type out an apology. Before he could hit send, though, the girl responded.

G: I love you too.

A blush entered the boy's face as all his panic and tension were slowly replaced with fuzziness and comfort. He smiled as he continued texting his newfound love.

* * *

 **Online Banking**

 **Author's Notes: Hello, I'm the author and narrator. From now on until the end of this short, the point of view will shift from third-person to first-person from the perspective of Annaka Haruna, the red ribbon-wearing girl. Take it away.**

Nice to meet you! I'm Annaka! A week ago, I started a new job as a clerk for the local book store. Today, my first paycheck came in, and I'm so happy! However, I don't want to stop over at the bank all the time to drop off my check and get my money, so I'm setting up Online Banking so I can transfer them on the go.

Alright, let's see here, I have the app open… Sign up...

 _Welcome to Tokisadame Online Banking! To begin, please choose which accounts you want to enroll:_  
 _1\. Personal_  
 _2\. Business_  
 _3\. Personal and Business._

So far so good, I have a personal account already set up. Let's go with option 1.

 _Enroll using:_  
 _1\. Debit or ATM Card_  
 _2\. Credit Card_  
 _3\. I don't have a card._

I think I have my ATM card, let's see… yep! Choosing option 1, typing in my number and pin… looks good. Proceed!

 _I have read and agreed to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use._

Heh, nobody reads those. Agree!

 _Please choose a security question._

Okay… let's see…

 _What school did you graduate from?_  
I'm still in school so that doesn't apply…

 _What's your mother's maiden name?_  
...nah… Ooh!

 _What's the name of your pet?_  
This one! Typing in Pino (ピノ) as my answer! That's my pet bunny.~

 _Your security answer must contain at least 5 characters._  
"Eehhh?" I'll… type out Pino in English.

 _Your security answer must contain at least 5 characters._  
"Eeehhhhhh?" Wait… that's still four characters. I'll add a period.

 _Your security answer must only contain Japanese or alphanumeric characters._  
EEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHH?

—

Whatever, I got through the security question, time to create a password! Typing it in… and enter!

 _Tokisadame Online Banking is unavailable at the moment. Please try again later. If you are still experiencing this problem, please call Tokisadame Bank at [insert phone number]._

Eh? That's odd. Let's refresh and go back.

 _Tokisadame Online Banking is unavailable at the moment. Please try again later. If you are still experiencing this problem, please call Tokisadame Bank at [insert phone number]._

…refresh.

 _Tokisadame Online Banking is unavailable at the moment. Please try again later. If you are still experiencing this problem, please call Tokisadame Bank at [insert phone number]._

Grrr… Okay. This is starting to get annoying. I'm gonna have to call the bank…

 _Dial. Ring…_

"Thank you for calling Tokisadame Bank. For personal and banking account assistance, please press 1. For Online Banking, please press 2. For office hours-"

 _Dial 2._

"Please hold as we get a technician to assist you."

 _Hold tone… traditional folk music…_

S: "Thank you for holding, this is Sora speaking from tech support, how can I help you today?"

A: "Hi, my name is Annaka. I want to enroll for Online Banking on my Tokisadame Banking app, but the service went down as I was trying to apply."

S: "Yes, we were just notified a minute ago that the service went down, we'll try to get you back up and running as soon as possible."

A: "Okay, thank you."

S: "I do have a few questions, while we're waiting for Online Banking to come back, if you don't mind me asking."

A: "Go ahead."

S: "At what point during your enrollment did Online Banking go down?"

A: "It went down after I entered my password."

S: "O...kay… and did your password have any odd characters in it?"

A: "I think so, my password had a rabbit emoji at the end."

S: "...please hold for one moment."

 _Hold tone, more Japanese folk music. After a minute or two passes..._

S: "Are you still there, Annaka?"

A: "Hai!"

S: "Okay, we got Online Banking back up and running. Looks like the emoji in your password caused the whole thing to crash."

A: "..."

S: "Annaka-san, are you there-"

A: "EEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?"

* * *

 **Pigeons**

 **WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE**

Downtown was bustling. The crowd moved in and out along the streets and in various stores, restaurants, and other buildings. Children were playing in the park, couples were strolling along, and others were sitting down on benches just to take in the peace.

Aside of a tree, half of a burger with its wrapper was littered on the ground.

A pigeon fluttered over to the burger, inspected the area around him, and started to feast on it. It was delicious. However, he was rudely interrupted from eating his meal when another pigeon flew over and got up to his face.

"Hey!", yelled the other pigeon, "What the fuck did I tell you about leaving your snacks in my nest?!"

The first pigeon rebutted. "Huh?! What are you talking about? I didn't leave anything in your nest!"

Angrily, the second pigeon snapped back. "Bullshit! You left your worms and pieces of candy all over! Now my wife doesn't have any room to lay her eggs!"

"Listen, I didn't even leave anything in your nest this time. Besides, we share the same tree, I even let you leave some of your stuff in MY nest from time to time!"

"I WANT TO HAVE KIDS, YOU KNOW! I want my wife-"

"You know what? I don't give a flying fuck what your wife wants, anymore. You two have been nothing but rude and inconsiderate ever since she came into our lives. We were best buds, and she ruined it. So why don't you go and take your nest and your nagging bitch of a wife to a different tree-"

"DON'T YOU TALK ABOUT MY WIFE LIKE THAT!"

"I CAN CALL HER WHATEVER I WANT."

"YOU ARE A REAL ASSHOLE, YOU KNOW THAT?"

"I'M GOING TO TAKE A SHIT ALL OVER YOUR EGGS!"

"HOW DARE YOU! I'M GONNA FUCKING END YOU."

"DO IT, BITCH. I DARE YOU."

The pigeons began to peck at each other after squawking back and forth. Wings were flapping, and the burger was being torn to shreds by their beaks and talons.

A boy and his grandfather walked by, witnessing this event. With a smile, the grandfather said, "Nature is beautiful, isn't it?" The boy agreed, nodding.

Another man knelt down before the pigeons. Pulling out his camera, he took a snapshot as a memento. The flash distracted the birds.

"SHIT, IT'S HIM, AND HE BROUGHT HIS MACHINE AGAIN!"

"OH CRAP, LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!"

The two pigeons flew away. The man closed his eyes and smiled. "Oh well.~"


	4. Chapter 4: Transfer Student

"I'm heading out, Hakase!", called a certain robotic high school girl.

Waving back, the professor called back, "Bye! Have a good day, Nano!"

"See ya, girl." Even Sakamoto called out to her as she left.

With a bright smile on her face, Nano Shinonome ventured out on the streets to school. It was the start of a new year, and she couldn't wait to begin her new classes and meet her friends again. Various students were making their way over as well, most of them in pairs or groups, chatting to one another. However, none of them shared the same level of joy and happiness that Nano had. ...well, except for one person.

"Nano-chan!~ Selamat pagi!", called a familiar energetic brown-haired presence.

"Aioi-san, Ohayo!~", said Nano, catching up to Yuuko. "Where's Naganohara-san and Manikami-san? They're usually here with you."

Yuuko looked around, curiously. "Beats me. They better catch up, or they're gonna be late."

As they waited for Mio and Mai, they began their usual girl talk.

"Ne ne, Nano-chan, did you see the newest episode of Lovers' Quarrel? Please tell me you did!"

"Oh, shoot! I forgot!", exclaimed a suddenly panicked Nano.

"WHAT?", shouted Yuuko, "Oh my god, Nano, you need to see it! It's so funny! In that episode, Shima-chan wanted to talk to Kaito-kun about something, so she went into his room and caught him undressing!"

Nano blushed innocently, "Goodness, how much did she see?!"

Yuuko looked at Nano with a stone cold face. "Everything. She. Saw. EVERYTHING."

"Ehh?!" At this point, the robot was red all over. She clearly wasn't used to seeing people of the opposite sex without any clothes, even if it were from an anime like Lovers' Quarrel.

"Yeah, it gets better," continued Yuuko, "Shima-chan didn't even move! She just STARED at him, while Kaito-kun tried to rush and cover himself up, but he tripped and hit his head against his bed frame, knocking him out, hahaha!"

"No way!" Nano wasn't blushing as much, getting more into what Yuuko was telling her. She didn't mind the spoilers at this point.

Yuuko retorted with twinkles in her eyes. "Way! So Shima-chan had to take care of Kaito-kun after he knocked himself out, WHILE STILL NAKED! SHE WAS A MESS! The faces she made were priceless! Oh my god, Nano, you need to see it for yourself, it's so funny!"

Both girls were in a laughing fit as they made their way into the Tokisadame High School building.

* * *

The entire classroom is filled with students before lunch began. Two boys were sitting down at a desk and looking at a photo of what appears to be a ghost of a little girl sitting in a corner of an abandoned, dusty room. Tanaka, the afro-wearing boy, brought the photo for Tsuyoshi Nakanojo, the blonde mohawk-wearing skeptic, to analyze it.

"When I visited my grandma," began Tanaka, "I took a picture of this room to add to my scrapbook, and when it developed, I found that cute little ghost sitting right there." He pointed at the spectral figure.

Nakanojo pressed his hand against his chin. "Hmm…" He tried looking for a way to disprove that this is a ghost.

Tanaka added on, "I remember my grandma telling me she had a sister who died a long time ago in this house."

Nakanojo looked up, "Do you think this could be her?"

"I don't see who else it could be."

"And you didn't see this girl when you looked at this room?"

"No."

This is strange, the mohawk boy thought to himself. Normally, when he browsed ghost photos on the internet, he would always find evidence of people shopping the photos to make it look like it had ghosts in the first place. However, the problem is that this is a real photograph produced from a Polaroid. There was no way Tanaka would have tampered with it without destroying it. It was starting to look convincing that this is the first legitimate evidence of ghosts existing. Unsettling feelings took over both Nakanojo and Tanaka.

"I've seen something like this before," said Tadashi while pointing at the ghost. "Usually when you take photos like these in dark rooms, the flash can capture faint reflective light. Look at this window." His finger dragged from the ghost to a window to the side. "See how the dust is collected along the edges? When the sunlight hits the window, it only casts out the light that isn't blocked by the dust, therefore, what you have left is that 'ghost' sitting in the corner."

Just like that, the mystery has been solved. Nakanojo and Tanaka looked at the photo again and confirmed what Tadashi has told them. The sunlight is hitting just at the right angle to make the ghost appear, like a projection in a movie theater.

"That just leaves one more question though…" said Nakanojo. He then turned his head and pointed towards Tadashi.

"Who the hell are you?"

* * *

Mai Minakami and Mio Nagahara stared down one another at a school desk, holding hands. Not in a way that you'd see with couples, but with thumb-wrestling. Yuuko officiated the match while Nano spectated from the side.

"Okay, are you two ready?" asked Yuuko.

Both participants nodded, still staring down one another. Mai was calm, collected, and cool as a cucumber. Mio's eyes lit like fire within the azure. She was clearly passionate and determined to win.

Yuuko decided to officially begin the match. "Loser treats me to lunch. Are you ready? Go!"

Mio quickly turned her head towards Yuuko. "Wait, wha-"

Mai's thumb immediately pressed down on Mio's thumb knuckle, and within two seconds…

CRACK.

The sound of a popped knuckle sounded throughout the classroom. Everyone heard it and was left in dead silence, including the teacher. The match was over before it even began.

Mio, with a face that contained the thousand-mile stare, gently let go of Mai's hand and pulled it away. She stood up, grabbed her wallet, pulled out a few hundred yen, and gave it to Yuuko.

"Get what you want," said Mio with an emotionless voice.

Yuuko took the money without warning and calmly walked out of the classroom. Mai returned to reading her book. Mio sat down and covered her face in her hands, basking in this moment of dread. Nano could not believe what she saw.

* * *

After witnessing possibly the most interesting thumb-wrestling match in existence, Nano sat at her desk to eat her lunch. She needed to clear those visions and memories from her head. Opening her bento box, she felt proud of what she cooked the night before. She smiled to herself and clapped her hands together.  
"Itadakimasu!" She began to eat her chicken stir fry and rice.

A boy sat in his desk to the left of Nano and pulled out his bento box. The robot looked over to see who it was and gasped. It was Tadashi, her neighbor across the street. "Ta… Tadashi-kun?"

He turned his head at the mention of his name. "Oh! Nano-chan! I didn't know you were in my class!"

"I didn't know you were here, either!" She was very excited to see him. "So you're the new transfer student here, huh?"

"Yep!" Tadashi continued on as he ate. "I'm glad you weren't in my first class when I introduced myself to everyone. I… embarrassed myself really bad..."

Nano chuckled, "It can't be as bad as my introduction."

Tadashi looked at his neighbor dead in the eye. "Did you fart in yours?"

"Eh?"

 _Takasaki-sensei addressed his class."Today, we have a new transfer student joining us today. Fujiomi-san?"_

 _"Hai!" A boy stood up, took a piece of chalk and wrote out his name on the board, reading 'Fujiomi Tadashi.'_

 _"Good morning, everyone, my name is Tadashi Fujiomi. I just moved in town all the way from Osaka. I uh… I like video games, um… sports…"_

 _He tried really hard not to mention his manga and eroge. He succeeded so far._

 _"A-anyway! I can't wait to meet everyone and be friends. Have a good day!," said Tadashi, all flustered out._

 _He bowed in front of everyone, and then…_

 _ **BRRRRRRRRRPPPPPPPPP…**_

 _He didn't dare look back up at his classmates to tell that they were holding back laughter as hard as they could._

"So yeah, that's… basically what happened." explained Tadashi. "I can't believe I messed up like that." He looked up to make eye contact with Nano to see her response.

Her face… was twisted. Her eyes slightly squinted, her teeth was biting her lip, and her cheeks puffed. Shortly…

"PAAHAHAHAHA!" Nano burst out with laughter. Nobody has ever heard the girl in a laughing fit like this. She pressed her hand at his shoulder to try and contain herself. "Ta… Ta… Tadashi-kuuun~, ahahah, I'm sorry, I'm… so sorry, ahahahahaha!"

Tadashi was beet red. He never felt this ashamed in his life. Soon, Nano wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Tadashi-kun, I shouldn't have laughed at you like that. I just can't imagine how awkward it must have been for you." She said that, trying to be as serious as possible now.

The boy turned away from Nano, "Yeah, yeah, make fun of me all you want now."

Now she felt really guilty. "Aww, Tadashi-kun… you know I don't mean harm, right?" She tried her best to diffuse the tension. "Here, this might cheer you up." She pulled out a juice box from her bag and handed it over to him with a smile.

Tadashi looked at the juice box and then back to Nano. "I can have this?"

Nano nodded happily. "Take it!"

Slowly feeling better, the boy took the juice and began to sip on it. "Arigatou, Nano-chan."

"Anytime!" She was glad his spirits were brightening after accidentally humiliating him. "Oh, while you're here, Tadashi-kun…" Nano pulled out her new school schedule. "Do we have any classes together? We didn't see each other this morning."

Tadashi pulled out his schedule and compared it with Nano's. "Let's see… oh! We have three together! Math, science, and P.E.!"

Nano looked a bit gloomy. "Aww, math? I'm not good at that…"

Tadashi handed her schedule back to her. "That's okay, if you need any help, you can always come over my house."  
Surprised by this nonchalant response, Nano blushed. "W-wait, really?"

"Yep!" He had no idea that the thought of a girl casually hanging with a boy, even to study, was embarrassing to her. "I'll even give you some pointers to help you out in the future," he said with a wink this time.

"A-ah!" Now it was Nano's turn to become beet red. "Ha… hai… that sounds… wonderful… ahah…"

Yuuko and Mio looked ahead at Nano and Tadashi from a few seats down.

"Well, well, well, Mio-chan," said Yuuko mischievously, "looks like our little robo friend found herself a playmate~."

"Yuuko, what's that supposed to mean?! And stop calling her a robot!"


	5. Chapter 5: Helvetica Standard (Part 1)

**HELLLVETICA STAAANDAAAAAARD~**

The rain is falling harder now than the last few days. A businessman in a suit and tie is trying to rush over to get back home from work, but things are just not looking good for him right now.

He presses the button at the crosswalk, hoping to get on the other side.

"Today is just not my day, is it? I'm just getting more and more wet…"

Suddenly, a car with tinted windows pulls aside of him before the stoplight. Curiously, the businessman looks over. The car was sleek, black, shiny, and new.

The driver side window rolls down. A man in a clown suit with full makeup and a cigar in his mouth is behind the wheel. He nods to the businessman with a knowing grin before rolling the window back up.

Soon enough, the businessman knew everything was going to be okay.


	6. Chapter 6: My Ordinary Life (Hiccups)

"Yosh, time to dig in!", exclaimed an ecstatic Yuuko.

Mio looked at the contents of the brown-haired genki's bento box and began questioning her. "Yuuko-chan, are you sure about this? That's a lot of wasabi…"

"Fu fu fu~," laughed a confident Yuuko, "there's nothing wrong with adding a little bit of spice in your life, right?"

While what she said is true, Mio observed that the food contained in Yuuko's bento box was covered with wasabi in its entirety. However, she felt that she needed to give her a lesson on how much of that green stuff to even use on her food, so she said nothing. Mai, looking from the desk aside of Yuuko's, also said nothing. Shocker, huh?

Yuuko took a big chunk of rice and engulfed it happily. "Oishii~!"

Surprised at her intake, Mio turned around and focused on her bento box. Seems like Yuuko didn't have a problem with the wasabi.

...or so it seemed.

Yuuko, at the inside, felt a large amount of discomfort in her mouth. _It's okay, it's okay, it's only wasabi,_ she thought to herself. While keeping a faux expression of delight, small tears were forming at the sides of her eyes. Nevertheless, the idiot went through and scarfed the rest of her food quickly, hoping to quickly end the uncomfortable sensation of wasabi.

"PAH! Delicious!", she yelled out 'happily.'

It was time for her to take a drink to rinse off her tastes. Unfortunately for her, she quickly forgot her drink.

"Huh? What?" Yuuko's face shifted to a state of panic as she scoured deeply through her bag to find the box of juice she paid for earlier that morning. Maybe she didn't leave it in her bag. Maybe she forgot it...

 _GUH._ She realized she gave her extra drink away as part of a bet she made with Annaka earlier, and she's nowhere to be seen. She quickly began tapping Mio on her shoulder repeatedly.

"Ne, ne, Mio-chan," Yuuko said with a shaky voice, "c-can I have a sip of your drink?"

Mio's once-disappeared doubt of Yuuko's intake of wasabi came back to her. "What, is it too much for you, Yuuko-chan?"

Yuuko was in shock. "N-no! Not at all! Ahahah… I just… I lost my drink earlier and I feel thirsty… yeah…"

Again, the blue haired girl's skepticism grew. "Eh?" Sighing, she handed what she had left of her juice. "...fine, just don't drink the whole-"

 _SLURP._

"WAH! YUUKO!", Mio's trademark fierceness came back. "I just said not to drink the whole thing!"

"Pah… thanks, Mio-chan~", Yuuko obliviously said as she handed the empty juice box back to her blue-haired friend. Mio slapped it out of her hands.

"I TOLD YOU, YUUKO, YOU SHOULDN'T USE THAT MUCH WASABI IN YOUR FOOD! NOW I DON'T HAVE ANY JUICE LEFT!" Oh yeah. Mio was angry. "YOU OWE ME JUICE, IDIOT." She crossed her arms and sat back down in her seat to continue her own lunch. "Baka ne…", she quietly said to herself.

Yuuko left a blank expression on her face. She wasn't ready for that sudden outburst, nor was she ready to realize that she ate too much, way too fast.

Nano walked over to the other three girls' desks after finishing her own lunch. "Sorry I'm late, I ended up eating lunch with Tadashi-kun," she said, bashfully.

"Ah! That's the new boy in class?", asked Mio.

"Hai!", responded the robot. "He's my new neighbor across the street, so I was surprised to see him come to school today!"

Yuuko was intrigued in this, too. "So, Nano-chan~, do you like your new friend? Huh?" She wasn't afraid to quickly tease Nano.

What seemed like the fifteenth time today, Nano turned red again. "E-eh! That's not… it's not what it's like! W-we're just-"

"I'm only kidding, Nano-chan," interrupted Yuuko, "I know you're just friends- _HIC."_

Mio, Mai, and Nano turned to look at Yuuko as she covered her mouth.

 _"HIC."_ The brown-haired baka's eyes turned whiter.

"Sheesh," Mio sighed, "no surprise you got hiccups after eating all that wasabi."

"Huh?", replied Yuuko, "I told you, it was not a problem- _HIC."_

Nano looked concerned. "What should we do? We can't just leave her like this."

"Honestly," said Mio, looking at Nano, "it's best she _would_ be left like this."

Suddenly, Mai stood up from her seat. "Follow me."

—

The Sucharaka Quartet went over to the water fountain near the bathroom. Yuuko has hiccuped at least fifty times on their way there, and it was getting on Mio's nerves. Mai had a plan though, so it should be able to suffice.

"Drink." Mai commanded to Yuuko, pointing at the fountain.

"O-okay, Mai- _HIC."_ Yuuko nervously walked to the water fountain, not knowing what to expect from Mai. She leaned over to take a sip, and while she's drinking the water, Mai chopped Yuuko's back.

"GHHFFF!" Yuuko immediately spit out the water and started coughing. "Wha- what the hell, Mai?!"

Mai looked at Yuuko with nothing.

"That really hurt!", said Yuuko, sadly. "I need another drink- _HIC."_

Damn. Didn't work.

"Oh," said Mai, softly. "I give up." She started heading to class.

"Wait, wait, wait! Mai-chan!", said Mio, while she and Nano rushed back to stop Mai in her direction. "We need you! How else are we going to cure Yuuko from her hiccups?"

Mai's expression still didn't change one bit as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Hold on!", said Nano suddenly, "I just remembered a trick to cure hiccups! One sec!" She ran over to the classroom. Mio and Mai looked at each other, the former shrugging as well. Yuuko stood there as she let another _HIC_ escape her mouth.

Mio walked over to Yuuko, smiling. She stood by the hiccup victim's side, looking at her with some… intentions. Yuuko was not only confused, but a little scared.

"Wh… what? _HIC."_ , Yuuko asked nervously.

Mio let out a cute giggle, and then suddenly grabbed Yuuko by her shoulders while making a face that can scare those of hearts of steel.

 **"ＯＯＧＡ ＢＯＯＧＡ ＢＯＯＧＡ"**

"GAAAAAAHHH!" Yuuko screamed in horror and surprise as she fell on her own ass. Buds of tears appeared at the sides of her eyes as she recovered from Mio's scare. "Why did you do that?!"

"Heehee, gomen gomen~," replied Mio, scratching the back of her head. She tilted her head to the side. "Did it work?"

Yuuko looked at Mio in confusion yet again. "Did what work? _HIC."_

The blue hair beast burst in anger. "DAMMIT! DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT I THOUGHT I HAD IT!"

Nano came back to the hallway with a pencil and a plastic cup. "I'm back!" She noticed Yuuko standing back on her feet, still traumatized. Looking in concern, she asked "What's going on?"

Yuuko walked over to Nano and placed her hands on the other's shoulders. "Please… please don't scare me…", she managed to mutter out.

Nano had a feeling of sympathy for her poor, stupid friend. However, the robot smiled let out a laugh, "Daijoubu! I won't!", to which Yuuko let out a sigh of relief, followed by another _HIC._ Nano proceeded to fill the cup with water and handed it over to Yuuko, along with the pencil.

"Okay… what- _HIC-_ do I do?", asked the hiccup victim.

"First things first," said Nano, "put the pencil in your mouth, in between your teeth." She made instructing gestures as she told Yuuko what to do.

Yuuko took the pencil, tip facing inwards, opened her mouth, and began to bring it inside. Not for long, though…

"YUUKO, YOU IDIOT, NOT LIKE THAT!", screamed a panicking Mio.

The brown haired baka laughed, "Heeheehee~, I'm kidding, kidding. _HIC._ Okay…". She placed the pencil in between her teeth, horizontally, and bit down.

"Okay," said Nano, "while holding the pencil in your mouth, drink the water. Your mouth and lips shouldn't close."

Yuuko did what her friend instructed and brought the cup to her mouth. Audible gulps can be heard as she slowly ingested the water. Leaving out a "Pah!" of refreshment, she took the pencil out of her mouth and waited.

"Did it work?", asked Mio.

Nano looked at her, "Let's wait and see."

Time passes.

Not a single hiccup was heard.

"Wow! That worked!", exclaimed an excited Yuuko. "Thank you so much, Nano-chan!"

Nano rubbed the back of her head, laughing nervously, "It's nothing, really…"

Mio looked at Nano curiously and asked her a question. "How did you know that trick could cure hiccups?"

"Well," Nano responded, "Hakase ended up getting hiccups, and I looked online to find any quick cures, came across this trick, tried it on her, and it worked immediately!"

As soon as the four girls headed back to class…

 _"HIC."_

Yuuko, Mio, and Nano looked to where that sound came from. Mai looked at them without any expression, left out another HIC.

Suddenly, Yuuko left a smug expression on her face and came towards the stoic one. "Okay, Mai-chan… bend over." She was motioning a karate-chop in front of her face. For the first time in a while, Mai was seen with a sweat drop rolling down the side of her cheek, letting out another _HIC_.


	7. Chapter 7: Making Friends

The first day of school went by like a breeze. Everybody was packing their bags the moment the bell rang, but some students decided to stay for a little bit.

Nano Shinonome said goodbye to her three friends and sat back down on her desk to pack up her things. It's a little unusual to know that there wasn't any homework that needed to be done today, even with the amount of material all the students had to take in from their lectures. Because of this, Nano didn't have to take a lot of things home for tonight.

Suddenly, Tadashi walked up to her. "Hey there!"

Nano let out a startled noise, much to his pleasure, and looked up at him. "O-oh! Hi, Tadashi-kun! What's going on?"

"Nothing much!" He felt more comfortable talking with Nano than before. "Did you have a good day today?"

"I did!", said Nano happily. "I'm so glad we don't have to do any homework today. I have more time to catch up on my new book that Mai gave me." She showed him the book in question. "I had some time to read it today during study hall, but it's a tough read! I barely scratched the surface… haha…" Nervous sweat drops poured out from her.

Tadashi lowered his head in guilt. "Yeah… about that…" Nano looked up in confusion from his tone of voice. "Nano-chan, do you have time today to help us unpack some more? We're not quite done yet, it seems…"

Smiling once more, Nano lit up her expression. "No problem! I can help! I'm sure Hakase will help too!"

Tadashi clapped his hands together. "Awesome! I'm gonna have to get changed out of my uniform before we all get started. You and Hakase are invited for dinner, by the way!"

As if the robot couldn't be any happier, her smile began to shine even brighter. "Really?! Thank you! I'll let Hakase know!" She pulled out her phone and began to text to her pint sized professor.

Her friendly neighbor let out a laugh. _'She's so cute,'_ he thought to himself. "Anyways, there's some 'business' I need to take care of. Hang tight, I'll be ready in about fifteen minutes." As he said this, he went to the opposite corner of the classroom to meet with two others.

Nano blinked in confusion, but thought nothing of it and continued to pack her belongings. Once she was finished, she stood outside of the classroom to talk with Annaka and some others to pass the time.

—

Nakanojo and Tanaka sat at their corner, messing around like usual.

"Hey you, lemme show you some magic," said a confident Nakanojo as he pulled out a deck of playing cards and waved them out. "Pick a card, any card."

The afro boy looked at the mohawk blonde skeptically. "I thought you didn't believe in the supernatural…?"

"Oh, I don't," replied Nakanojo, "but card magic has nothing to do with the supernatural, as it's just tricks that involves skills with sleight of hand and deception." He says this as he pointed his index finger at his temple. "Anyways, pick a card."

Sighing, Tanaka decided to play along with his friend's game. Picking a card, he kept it to himself and looked at it. **Three of clubs.**

"Alright," said the magic mohawk as he adjusted his grip on the cards, "now place the card in the deck face down." Tanaka complied and did what he was told. Instead of making some extra moves, like what was to be expected, Nakanojo put the cards in his pocket, placed his feet on his desk, and moved his hands behind his head. He was in full relaxation.

"Um…", said Tanaka, nervously, "aren't you going to finish the trick?"

Nakanojo held his hand up politely, "All good things come to those who wait."

This seemed to bother the afro boy, as he was fully anticipating the effect of the trick. Now he needs to wait? It didn't take him long to be annoyed.

Just then, Tadashi came over to see the other two boys. "Hey, guys! What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing," said Tanaka, "I'm just waiting for mohawk to finish his damn card trick." He crossed his arms, turned his head aside, and huffed in frustration.

"I told you," said Nakanojo, reassuringly, "all good things come to those who wait!" He then turned to Tadashi. "So, Fujiomi-kun, did you join any after school activities?"

Tadashi 'blinked', "Me?," he replied. "Oh, I didn't join anything yet, but…" Both Tanaka and Nakanojo looked at Tadashi curiously. He was getting something from his bag. "One second…", it took him a while to find what he was looking for. He finally pulled something out, saying, "I did have three clubs in mind." He was holding Tanaka's **three of clubs.**

Words escaped the afro boy at this point. He just got played by his best friend and the new transfer student, and he knew it. Sarcastically, with a deadpan expression, he clapped his hands slowly.

"By the way," said Tadashi, to Tanaka. "I don't think I've introduced myself to you, yet. I'm Fujiomi. Tadashi Fujiomi." He extended his hand for a handshake. It took Tanaka a while to exchange his handshake, due to how much he felt betrayed from that forced card 'magic' he just experienced.

"Call me Tanaka," the afro boy muttered. He cleared his throat, "I'm assuming you and Nakanojo met already?"

"Oh yeah!", exclaimed the transfer student, "We got to talk to each other in art class, and we planned out the card trick to pull on you. Sorry about that!" He scratched the back of his head, laughing nervously.

Tanaka couldn't be mad at this point. Tadashi seemed like a harmless, innocent person that wanted to have some fun. "Well," Tanaka replied with a smile, "you two sure got me good." Both Tadashi and Nakanojo shared some laughs, even Tanaka let out a few chuckles.

Nakanojo clapped his hands together, "Fujiomi-kun, why don't you join Tanaka and I for lunch everyday? Seems like you get along real nicely."

Tadashi blinked in surprise. He didn't think he would potentially make other friends besides Nano in this school, especially not this easily. "S-Sure! I would like that!" His excitement shone. "By the way, you can just call me Tadashi. I'm not that formal."

"Good," said Tanaka, "neither are we."

Tadashi smiled again. "Good. Also, uh… Nakanojo… maybe tone down on your ghost stories and conspiracy theories during our, uh… _friendly_ discussions." He too, was starting to get annoyed, but couldn't help but have some fun teasing his newfound mohawk friend about it.

Nakanojo shot a glare and smirk at Tadashi. "No promises."

At this point, the three boys were packing up to head home. They exchanged LINE usernames with each other and promised to keep continuing some antics inside and outside school. The boys felt rather… mischievous. Not in a malicious way, but their playful antics will soon end up getting them and others into some comedic predicaments. (Stay tuned for that.)

"So, Tadashi," said Nakanojo, suddenly, "wanna hang with us at the arcade tonight?"

"Oh, uh…", said Tadashi nervously. "S-sorry, but I already have plans to be with my neighbor tonight."

"That's fine!", replied Tanaka. "Who's your neighbor?"

Nakanojo quick shot a glance at Tanaka, "Why do you care? It's not that importa-"

 _"Tadashi-kuuun!~"_ A soft, playful voice called from across the classroom. The boys turned to the direction of where it came, and a black haired robot schoolgirl was seen at the other side smiling bright. "Ready to go?"

Her neighbor smiled back. "In a bit, one second!", he called out. Tadashi turned to the boys. "Yeah, Nano-chan is my neighbor across the street. We still have some unpacking to do, and she offered to help out. Catch you two later tomorrow!" He said this as he walked over to his robot friend. "Let's go!"

"Hai!", said Nano. The two were seen walking out of the classroom.

Both Nakanojo and Tanaka looked at each other with curiosity and surprise, and looked back at the exit.

"Nano-chan is his neighbor, huh?" Tanaka said to nobody in particular.

"Maaannn," groaned Nakanojo as he slouched. "I'm so jealous… I would kill to have such a cute girl next door where I live…"

Tanaka turned to his mohawk friend with a smug expression, "Why don't you use your ouija board to summon a spooky lady for you?"

Nakanojo shot a rageful expression back at his afro friend, "ARE YOU MOCKING ME?!"

—

The afternoon was bright, and the soft breeze cooled the late summer heat. Many students were walking home from school, passing by many vehicles alongside the road. It was another day for their ordinary lives, but oddly enough, there's a beauty in all of that.

Tadashi and Nano walked along an alleyway to get back home. Nobody else was around. As they went along their route, they casually conversed about their day.

"So then I walked up to Tanaka and Nakanojo on cue," explaining Tadashi, "and he asked me about my potential extra-curricular activities."

Nano's head tilted aside. "I thought you weren't doing anything after school…?"

He let out a laugh, "I don't, but hear me out. I had an extra poker card in my bag, and when Nakanojo asked me if I was doing anything after school, I pulled out the card and told them I thought of three clubs I could join. The card was the three of clubs."

Nano giggled, "You're such a dork, Tadashi-kun." Both shared a laugh.

"Hey," replied Tadashi, "it takes one to know one."

Nano let out a whine, "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Ehehe, gomen, gomen, I'm only teasing you, Nano-chan.~"

She playfully crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and puffed out her cheeks in a pout. "Hmph!" Tadashi was very well amused by this, and it didn't take long for Nano to let out her breath and continue laughing. There was no way she could have kept that face.

Tadashi shot a quick glance at Nano's key without her seeing it. Looking ahead in a blank stare, he thought to himself. _'It's amazing… even though Nano-chan is technically not a real human, she's more human than most people I know.'_

Nano looked at Tadashi and caught him staring. "What's wrong?"

He let out a startle and caught himself, "A-ah, nothing! Just thinking."

She looked at him curiously once more, but thought nothing of it. She looked ahead and pointed out their homes in the distance. "Look, we're close!" She started to run through the alleyway.

"Hey! Wait up!" Tadashi chased his robot friend.

Later that evening, the Shinonome and Fujiomi families shared another dinner together and finally completed unpacking the boxes that were left over. Mission accomplished.

 _Another peaceful day passes at the Fujiomi household._


	8. Chapter 8: Helvetica Standard (Part 2)

**HELLLVETICA STAAANDAAAAAARD~**

 _Somewhere, in the United States…_

A grizzled, middle-aged man sat at the bar smoking a cigarette, enjoying his glass of whiskey. Nothing new was happening in his life, and his future seemed bleak. The only thing interesting that was happening was that he was contacted by an old friend after many years of disconnection.

Coming through the doors was a man wearing thick sunglasses and a trench coat. The man tapped his surroundings with a white cane as he made his way through the bar stool next to the man with the cigarette. The other man put down his smoke, turned his seat, smiled, and gave the blind man a tight embrace.

"It's been a while, Mason," he said.

"Sure has, Mitchell," said the blind man. "Long time no see."

Heavy air quickly fell down inside the bar. The bartender slowed down her tracks and stared at both men.


End file.
